Macklin set for step up against Campas
In 2006 both men were involved in two of the best fights of the year and on the same night. September 29, 2006, is a date neither Macklin nor Campas will forget in a hurry.
In Manchester, Macklin lost a brave bid for the British light middleweight title against Jamie Moore after 10 torrid rounds of phone booth warfare while just a few hours later, on the other side of the Atlantic, Campas gave John Duddy the fright of his life losing on a close decision.
This fight represents a major step up in class for Macklin having moved up a weight in 2007 and successfully recovered from the Moore loss with three straight stoppage victories.
Campas has shared the ring with some of the modern greats, including Oscar De La Hoya and Felix “Tito” Trinidad.
Incredibly, his fight with Macklin will be his 103rd outing as a professional after having turned pro at the age of 15. In his 20-year pro career he’s compiled an amazing record of 91 wins (73 of them by KO) and just 11 defeats and picked up a world light middleweight title along the way.
Macklin, who will have new trainer and former two weight world champ Buddy McGirt in his corner in Dublin, believes that an impressive win will bring his title ambitions into sharper focus.
“It’s a real step up in class for me and just what I need,” said the Birmingham-based Irishman who has roots in Tipperary where has played championship hurling at under-age level. “Campas is a very seasoned pro, you only need to look at the names on his record to see that.”
It will be the Arizona-based Mexican’s second successive trip to Europe and having been beaten by former European champion and world rated Amin Asikainen in Helsinki he’ll be hoping for better luck in Dublin. Macklin has already studied that bout: “I thought the stoppage was very premature. Campas was still on his feet and firing back and he looked disgusted that it had been stopped.”
Up until then the last guy to legitimately stop him was Oscar De La Hoya and there was certainly no disgrace in that,” he said.
“I won’t really be looking to stop him because when you look for the stoppage it never comes. You have to be patient and anyway I want to get back to boxing a bit more as that side of things was neglected a bit when I was with Billy Graham. People forget that I was a very good amateur boxer and I need to get back to using those boxing skills.
“To be honest it will be difficult to do that with this fight because with the style Campas fights there’s nearly always fireworks and if it does become that kind of fight I won’t be found wanting.”
Macklin flies out to McGirt’s gym in Vero Beach, Florida this weekend to begin a month-long training camp in the Sunshine State.
“Part of the reasoning behind linking up with Buddy was to get me boxing more again,” explained Macklin. “Obviously Buddy was a tremendous fighter himself and I’ve been really impressed with him as a trainer. You only have to look at how he turned Arturo Gatti from a brawler to a boxer to see the kind of influence he can have.”
McGirt says he’s excited about working with Macklin. “I’m really looking forward to working with Matthew. I’m currently working with Paul Smith who I took on after working with him on the Contender tv series. He trained with Matthew when they were both in Billy Graham’s gym and Paul recommended Matthew to me so I’m excited about it.
Campas says he won’t be drawn into any trash talking or bold predictions ahead of the fight but promised: “I can only tell the people that they will see a real fight, I can guarantee that.”
The card will also feature Cuban heavyweight sensation Mike “The Rebel” Perez who has based himself in Cork. The 22-year-old former world junior amateur champion has already racked up two quick-fire wins in the pro ranks since his arrival in the Southern Capital last month.
His manager, Corkman Gary Hyde, believes that the power punching Cuban will bring the world heavyweight title back to his adopted city in the not too distant future.
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